GemeinSchafftNatur in Chile

Download the description (ESP/EN) here.  

GemeinSchafftNatur, literally meaning CommunityCreatesNature, promotes an innovative approach to climate action in Germany and Chile. By working together with local communities, we aim to plan and implement measures for climate change adaptation and mitigation, incorporating elements from sustainable construction, water, and food systems. An important component consists of empowering the youth to become change agents.

This project focuses on the development and expansion of the first Earthship (Nave Tierra) in Chile, a sustainable living demonstration site, using the principles of permaculture and circular design. It will be jointly executed by local and international volunteers, among them GemeinSchafftNatur, a Berlin-based initiative of netzwerk stadtraumkultur e.V.; NaveTierra, a Chilean-based Earthship project; and the community of the surrounding villages.

Earthship refers to sustainably designed buildings that are heated only by passive solar energy, through gaining and storing heat in their structure or cooling by natural air circulation, without burning fossil fuels or wood. They are also characterized by the extensive use of natural and recycled building materials and their complete self-sufficiency in terms of energy, water, and wastewater use as well as food production in a greenhouse.

The project consists of three integrated components:

1. Sustainable Construction and Agriculture: Finalizing the Earthship through the construction of an integrated greenhouse that encloses the structure, enabling the production of tropical crops, and thus decreasing the carbon footprint associated with their import. In addition, the greenhouse will close the Earthship structure, thereby enabling emission-free heating. 

2. Sustainable Water Use: Construction of a rainwater harvesting system for irrigation of the vegetable garden. The gardens will be further implemented as an agroecological system using the principles of permaculture, which actively promotes biodiversity and helps conserve natural resources. In addition, we will analyze the capability of installing an automated drip irrigation system for the garden.

3. Environmental Education: Hands-on workshops about climate change adaptation and mitigation and capacity building of local stakeholders. The Earthship will be used as a living classroom to deliver a wide range of workshops to educate the community on circular thinking and permaculture, including sustainability, sustainable water management, bio-construction, biodiversity conservation, and climate change adaptation and mitigation.